"We continue to assess the impact of Ike on the terminal and the extent of the impact on the schedule. The extent of damage on the pipeline is minimal and is on course to be completed in 2009," she said.

The company employs 675 people at its Island Park - the former Bethlehem shipyard site - and its engineering office at Edison Plaza, the same building that is home to Entergy Texas.

CB&I also sharply cut its workforce in Tyler in northeast Texas.

"Some fabricating operations would be consolidated in Beaumont because of ongoing projects in the region," Sieving said.

The company decided to close down operations in Tyler because of expensive shipping costs, said Yarborough.

"There is no reason for (the layoffs) other than they're closing the Tyler shop so they'll have a waterway," said Yarborough. "It's cheaper to ship what we make by water than over land."

Now, the Silsbee resident said he will look elsewhere for work. He said he might have to go as far as Longview for a job.

"That's going to mess everything up and put me a ways off from my family," Yarborough said. "I have a wife, a 2-year old stepson, I pay child support for my other kids. I've got bills like everyone else."

Layoffs of the sort that eliminated millions of jobs across the country haven't yet hit the Southeast Texas workforce in a like manner.

But there are rumblings.

The Texas Workforce Commission lists pending layoffs on its Web site under the WARN act, which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.

Robert Foster, a local labor analyst with Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas, said he is a member of what's called the Rapid Response Team, which provides people who are laid off with a list of services they can get and information about unemployment insurance.

As of Thursday afternoon, Foster said the workforce center in Beaumont had not received any inquiries from CB&I employees.

Recent layoffs in Southeast Texas have included the Equistar chemical plant in Beaumont, which has been idle since Hurricane Ike struck. More than 70 workers lost their jobs when Equistar decided not to reopen the plant.

American Valve & Hydrant announced it was reducing staff by more than 30 in January in response to poor economic conditions related to the real estate market.

Much of the manufacturer's product went to Florida, particularly during the boom years of 2005-06. Florida real estate was hit hard by the real estate meltdown because of bad mortgages.

American Valve & Hydrant supplies product for new subdivisions.

Motiva Enterprises this year announced it was slowing down the pace of its $7.5 billion expansion, drawing it out to at least 2012. Contractors working on the expansion laid off more than 80 workers in January.

Deliveries of large pieces of equipment for the Motiva project are continuing, much of which is coming through the Port of Port Arthur.

Volentine, who also is business manager for Pipefitters Local No. 195, said 179 of the union's almost 700 members are on the out-of-work list, and more than 1,100 of building trades members are listed as available for work.